Swedish Drone logistics company Everdrone has deployed its E3 medical drone system in the southwestern city of Borås, as part of a regional initiative to strengthen emergency healthcare by delivering defibrillators to cardiac arrest scenes while an ambulance is en route.
The project is led by the Västra Götaland Region in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet and Everdrone, the company responsible for providing and operating the autonomous technology.
The new drone base, situated at the service office in Pantängen, was inaugurated on April 29 and became operational in early May.
“The base in Borås has been strategically located based on analysis of population density, previous emergency incidents, and airspace availability,” Daniel Blecher, Head of Customer Operations at Everdrone.
The deployment of Everdrone’s system is designed to significantly reduce response times for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. This new base will expand its coverage to approximately 63,000 residents, bringing the total reach of the regional drone network to around 300,000 people.
“In cases of cardiac arrest, immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation and access to a defibrillator are critical for survival – every minute counts,” said Magnus Hallberg von Geijer, COO at Everdrone.
“While waiting for an ambulance, Everdrone’s new drone can arrive in under three minutes carrying a defibrillator.”
The city of Borås is the fourth location to appy Everdrone’s new-generation E3 medical drone, whose updated model features significantly have improved performance capabilities over its predecessor, flying faster and farther, and is engineered to withstand the demanding conditions of the Nordic climate, including cold, snow, rain, and wind.
Launched in February this year, the new E3 is capable of carrying not only an automated external defibrillator (AED), but also additional medical equipment such as adrenaline for anaphylactic reactions, antidotes for opioid overdoses, and materials to stop severe bleeding. This significantly broadens the operational scope compared to earlier systems that were primarily focused on cardiac arrest response.
According to the manufacturer, the E3 combines OEM products with proprietary components. It integrates parts from suppliers including T-MOTOR (Ligpower) and Aston Harald Composite.
The aircraft also features a four rotor-pair configuration with a total of eight blades. It measures 90 by 75 by 55 centimetres, excluding propellers, and has a maximum take-off weight of 24 kilograms.
As Everdrone claims, flight performance has been significantly improved compared to the E2. A proprietary damping system enables a vibration-free cruising speed of over 80 km/h. The battery capacity provides sufficient margin for various deployment profiles, and the company states that battery suppliers are continuously evaluated to further enhance performance and endurance.
The E3 operates autonomously and is monitored remotely by a drone operator, aligning the system with existing BVLOS operational concepts in medical response scenarios.
Where the E2 had a payload capacity of approximately two kilograms, primarily intended for transporting a defibrillator, the E3 can carry up to 4.5kg of medical cargo. The modular payload bay is designed to accommodate different types of emergency equipment. In addition to an AED, the drone can transport adrenaline for acute allergic reactions, naloxone or other antidotes for opioid overdoses, as well as bandages and tourniquets to control life-threatening bleeding.
Everdrone founder Mats Sällström said the decision to develop a proprietary drone platform followed the conclusion that commercially available drones did not sufficiently meet the specific requirements of emergency medical care. By transporting critical medical supplies by drone, response times can be significantly reduced.
In Sweden, the average ambulance response time is around ten minutes. The new E3 is expected to reach the scene in under three minutes. Everdrone positions the system explicitly as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, existing ambulance services.
